Who is eligible for asylum, and how to apply in the UK
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Dear Mr. Bassie,
I would like to know whether it is still possible to apply for asylum in the United
Kingdom and if so, how does a person proceed.
A.F.
Dear A.F.,
To claim asylum in the United Kingdom (UK) persons must apply for asylum if they
want to stay there as a refugee. To be eligible, persons must have left their country
and be unable to go back because they fear persecution.
Persons must apply for a visa if they want to go to the UK for another reason, for
example to work, study or remain with family. If they are already in the UK and
want to remain with family living here, they must apply for a “ family of a settled
person visa “.
Persons should apply when they arrive in the UK or as soon as they think it would be unsafe for them to return to their own country. They should note that their application is more likely to be refused if they wait. After they have applied they will have a meeting with an immigration officer and this is known as a ‘screening.’
After the screening the Home Office will decide if the claim being made can be
considered in the UK. If it can, the applicant will then have an asylum interview with a case worker. Persons will be told when there is a decision on their application.
Please note that an applicant can receive up to two years in prison or have to leave the UK if they give false information on their application.
AWAITING FOR THE DECISION
Applicants will be told after their screening what they must do while they are waiting for their asylum decision, for example report to a case worker regularly which is known as ‘reporting events.’ He/she must also tell the authorities if their situation changes. Persons will not usually be allowed to work while their asylum claim is being considered.
Please be aware that persons can get help with getting legal representation for their asylum claim and with living in the UK while awaiting their decision. Also, persons can apply as a child on their own if they do not have an adult relative who is also claiming asylum.
ELIGIBILITY
To stay in the UK as a refugee, persons must be unable to live safely in any part of their own country because they fear persecution there. Please note that if a person is stateless, their own country is the country that they usually live in.
This persecution must be because of race; religion; nationality; political opinion; or anything else that puts the person at risk because of the social, cultural, religious or political situation in their country, for example, their gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. Further, persons must have failed to get protection from authorities in their own country.
When the claim might not be considered
A person’s claim might not be considered if they:
• are from a European Union (EU) country;
• travelled to the UK through a ‘safe third country;’
• have a connection to a safe third country where they could claim asylum.
Generally, a safe third country is one that the person is not a citizen of; one that
they would not be harmed in; and one that would not send the person on to another country where they would be harmed.
Family members Persons can include their partners and their children under 18 years old as ‘dependents’, if they are with them in the UK.
If the application is successful, any dependent named on it can usually stay for the same amount of time as the principle applicant. However, they will not get refugee status unless they make their own claim for asylum. Refugee status means someone is protected by the Refugee Convention. They can, for example, apply for a refugee integration loan.
I hope this helps
John S. Bassie
John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-Law who practises law in Jamaica. He
is a Justice of the Peace, a Supreme Court Appointed Mediator, a Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Chartered Arbitrator, The Past Global
President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the
Immigration Law Practitioners Association (U.K.). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com